Measuring and cutting apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for cutting tiles or similar items to size comprises a measuring device having first and second measuring members which are movable towards and away from each other to set a required size to which a tile is to be cut, a cutting device comprising a base, a cutter, and a guide for guiding movement of the cutter along a defined path across the base, and a formation on the base to receive the first measuring member of the measuring device and to position the same in alignment with the defined path, whereby a tile placed in edge contact with the second measuring member of the measuring device is automatically positioned for cutting substantially to the required size by the cutter. The formation preferably comprises a recess in the base, such that when received in the recess an upper surface of the first measuring member lies substantially flush with an upper surface of the base.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to apparatus for measuring and for cutting tilesand the like to an size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for cutting tiles or similar items to size, comprising ameasuring device having first and second measuring members which aremovable towards and away from each other to set a required size to whicha tile is to be cut, a cutting device comprising a base, a cutter, andguide means for guiding movement of the cutter along a defined pathacross the base, and a formation on the base to receive the firstmeasuring member of the measuring device and to position the same inalignment with said defined path, whereby a tile placed in edge contactwith the second measuring member of the measuring device isautomatically positioned for cutting substantially to the required sizeby the cutter.

Preferably, the formation comprises a recess in the base. When receivedin the recess, an upper surface of the first measuring member desirablylies substantially flush with an upper surface of the base.

In one embodiment, each measuring member comprises an arm member havingat least one lug depending therefrom in a direction generallyperpendicular to the plane of relative movement between the measuringmembers. In another embodiment, each measuring member comprises a fingerelement which extends in a direction generally in the plane of therelative movement between the measuring members.

The first measuring member can include a projection which locks into arecess in the base of the cutting device, to prevent the measuringdevice from tipping relative to the base when the first measuring memberis received by said formation.

The measuring device can include locking means operable to lock themeasuring members against relative movement, the locking means includinga manually operable locking member which is movable between a lockposition and a release position. Desirably, the locking member ispivotable between said lock and release positions, preferably about anaxis generally parallel to the plane of relative movement between themeasuring members.

Advantageously, the locking means is in the form of a clamp, and clampsthe measuring members together when the locking member is in its lockposition, preferably by means of a cam surface on the locking member.

Conveniently, one of the measuring members includes a slot or recess inwhich the other measuring member is slidably received, and said othermeasuring member is urged against a wall of the slot or recess when thelocking member is in its lock position. For example, said one of themembers can include a pair of opposed recesses which receive respectiveedge portions of said other member.

Desirably, the cam surface comprises a generally cylindrical elementhaving a flat portion thereon.

In an alternative arrangement, the measuring members of the measuringdevice are movable both rectilinearly and angularly relative to oneanother. In this case, the measuring device preferably takes the form asdefined below.

Conveniently, the cutter serves to score a parting line on the tile, thecutting device also includes jaw means for parting the tile along saidparting line, and said second measuring member of the measuring devicehas at least one upstanding projection thereon with which a side edge ofthe tile can be engaged during the parting operation. Advantageously,each projection is formed by a lug which is mounted on the secondmeasuring member for pivotal movement between a first position whereinit upstands from the measuring member and a second position wherein itlies generally flat against (and preferably flush with) the measuringmember.

Desirably, the lug is formed by the longer leg of a generally L-shapedcomponent, and a shorter leg of said component forms a further lug whichupstands from the opposite side of the measuring member when thefirst-mentioned lug is in its second position, the further lug lyinggenerally flat against (and preferably flush with) the measuring memberwhen the first-mentioned lug is in its first position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda measuring device comprising a pair of measuring members mounted forboth rectilinear and angular movement relative to one another, firstlocking means operable to lock the measuring members against relativemovement and including a manually operable first locking member movablebetween a lock position and a release position, and second locking meansoperable to lock the measuring members against relative angular movementand including a manually operable second locking member movable betweena lock position and a release position, the first locking member when inits lock position preventing movement of the second locking memberbetween said lock and release positions.

Preferably, the first locking member includes a pair of recesses forreceiving the second locking member in the latter's lock and releasepositions respectively.

Desirably, the second locking member is rendered inaccessible by thefirst locking member when the latter is in its lock position, and isexposed for operation when the first locking member is in its releaseposition.

Advantageously, the first locking member is pivotable between its lockand release positions, preferably about an axis generally perpendicularto the axis of relative angular movement between the measuring members.

Conveniently, the second locking member is slidable between its lock andrelease positions.

Desirably, one of the measuring members comprises a stem portion and atleast one arm extending laterally therefrom, and the other measuringmember is mounted on the stem portion for rectilinear and angularmovement relative thereto.

Preferably, the first locking means is in the form of a clamp, andclamps the measuring members together when the first locking member isin its lock position. The clamping action is advantageously performed bymeans of a cam surface on the first locking member.

Conveniently, the first locking means includes a clamp element mountedon one of the measuring members and including a slot or recess in whichthe other measuring member is received, and said other measuring memberis urged against a wall of the slot or recess when the locking member isin its lock position. For example, said one of the measuring members caninclude a pair of opposed recesses which receive respective edgeportions of said other measuring member.

Preferably, the second locking means comprises a mounting element whichis angularly fixed relative to one of the measuring members and which isrotatably received in a recess or opening in the other measuring member,and the second locking member is carried by the mounting element formovement towards and away from a side wall of the recess or opening.

Conveniently, in a particular relative angular orientation of themeasuring members (preferably when they are mutually parallel), thesecond locking member is engageable with a formation on said othermeasuring member to lock the measuring members in that relativeorientation.

Desirably, the second locking member is slidable in a recess on theunderside of the mounting member, and a manually graspable lug on thesecond locking member extends through a slot in the mounting member.

Preferably, the locking member is carried by the clamping element, andthe aforementioned cam surface acts upon the mounting element.

Advantageously, the first locking member is received in a recess in themounting element, and the cam surface acts upon a base of the recess.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for cutting tiles and the like, comprising a base, at leastone guide rail extending across the base, a cutter mounted on the guiderail for movement therealong, first retaining means for retaining oneend of each guide rail, and second retaining means for retaining anopposite end of each guide rail, the first retaining means comprising ahollow molded member having first and second side walls facingrespectively towards and away-from the first retaining means, the firstand second side walls having mutually aligned apertures therein throughwhich each guide rail passes, the external surface of the hollow moldedmember having no undercut surfaces in an upward direction, the internalsurface of said member having no undercut surfaces in a downwarddirection, said surfaces being coplanar at the apertures, the firstretaining means also including a cap member detachably secured to thehollow molded member so as to block off each aperture in the second sidewall.

Preferably, the second retaining means includes a blind aperture whichreceives each guide rail end-on.

Advantageously, the second retaining means comprises a further hollowmoulded member having a side wall facing the first retaining means, saidside wall having an aperture therein to receive each guide rail, theexternal surface of the further hollow molded member has no undercutsurfaces in an upward direction, the internal surface of said furthermember has no undercut surfaces in a downward direction, and saidsurfaces are coplanar at each aperture.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only,with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of anapparatus for cutting tiles to size, according to the present invention,showing a cutting device of the apparatus partly broken away;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a measuring device which forms part of theapparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial-sectional view along the line X--X in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial-sectional view along the line Y--Y in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are partial-sectional views along the line Z--Z in FIG. 2,showing a locating device in two alternative positions;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a partial side view of the apparatus;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of part of the cutting device of theapparatus;

FIG. 10 is a section along the line A--A in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a further part of the cutting device;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a measuring device which forms part of asecond embodiment of apparatus for cutting tiles to size, according tothe present invention;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line B--B in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line C--C in FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a side view of the measuring device shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a partial plan view of a cutting device which also forms partof the second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIGS. 12 to 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the apparatuscomprises generally a measuring device 10 which is used to measure asize of tile to be cut (e.g. to fill a gap between the end of a run oftiles and a corner of a room), and a cutting device 11 which is used toscore a line on the tile at the appropriate position and subsequently tosnap the tile to the required size. The measuring device 10 is composedof a first measuring member in the form of an arm member 12 of T-shapedconfiguration having a stem portion 13 and two arm portions 14 extendinglaterally therefrom. A second measuring member in the form of an armmember 15 is mounted on the stem portion 13 for both rectilinear andangular movement relative to the member 12. The rectilinear movementallows a measuring edge 16 on the member 15 to be moved towards and awayfrom a measuring edge 17 on the member 12, while the angular movementenables the edge 16 to be angled relative to the edge 17.

Relative movement between the members 12 and 15 is controlled by meansof a clamping and locking device 18 disposed centrally of the arm member15. This device is shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, and comprises adisc-like clamping element 19 having a pair of feet 20 dependingtherefrom, the feet being provided with opposed recesses 21 whichslidingly receive opposed edges of the stem portion 13 of the arm member12. Upstanding from the clamping element 19 are a pair of laterallyspaced lugs 22 which are apertured to receive a pivot pin 23.

Surmounting the clamping element 19 is a mounting element 24 which is ofgenerally cylindrical configuration but which is of slightly largerdiameter than the clamping element 19. A rectangular recess 25 isprovided in an upper surface of the mounting element 24, while furtherrecesses 26 extend from a bottom surface of the element 24 andcommunicate with the recess 25 on either side of the latter. The lugs 22on the clamping element 19 are received in the recesses 26,respectively, such that the pivot pin 23 extends across the recess 25.

In its bottom surface, the mounting element 24 has a further recess 26'which communicates with the recess 25 by way of a slot 27. Received inthe recess 26' is a locking member 28 having an upstanding lug 29 whichextends through the slot 27, the arrangement being such as to allowlimited sliding movement of the locking member 28 generally radially ofthe mounting element 24, by manual operation of the lug 29. The member28 is thus movable between a locking position wherein the lug 29 abutsthe right-hand end of the slot 27 (as viewed in FIG. 4), and a releaseposition wherein the lug abuts the left-hand end of the slot.

Disposed within the recess 25 in the mounting element 24 and pivoted tothe pin 23 is a cam lever 30. The lever 30 is pivotable between a lockposition wherein it lies substantially flush with the upper surface ofthe mounting element 24, and a release position as depicted in brokenlines in FIG. 4. In its underside, the lever 30 is provided with twospaced recesses 31 and 32. When the lever 30 is in its lock position, itlies directly over the lug 29 of the locking member 28 and receives thelug in the recess 31 or 32 according to the position of the member 28.The lever 30 thus renders the lug 29 inaccessible at this time, andserves to hold the locking member 28 selectively in its lock and releasepositions.

The clamping and locking device 18 is rotatably received in a circularopening 33 in the arm member 15. The opening 33 is stepped to define anupwardly-facing annular shoulder 34, which is provided at one point onits circumference with a locking formation 35. This formation is engagedby a recess 36 in the locking member 28 when the latter is in its lockposition. The mounting element 24 rests upon the shoulder 34, while theclamping element 19 is received within the smaller diameter part of theopening 33. The components are dimensioned so that the feet 20 hold thearm member 12 with the upper surface of the stem portion 13 in closeproximity to the underside of the arm member 15.

Locking of the relative movement between the arm members 12 and 15 iscontrolled by the lever 30, which acts in co-operation with the mountingelement 24 and the clamping element 19. More particularly, the lever 30has a cam surface 37 which bears against a base of the recess 25 andwhich (when the lever is in its lock position) exerts an upward force onthe clamping element 19 by way of the pivot pin 23 and the lugs 22. Thisin turn urges the stem portion 13 of the arm member 12 into tightengagement with the underside of the arm member 15 so that the stemportion 13 is effectively clamped between a base wall of each recess 21and the arm member 15. This clamping action is released when the lever30 is moved to its release position, wherein the pressure exerted by thecam surface 37 on the base of the recess 25 is lessened. This alsoserves to expose the lug 29 for manual operation of the locking member28.

Locking of the relative angular movement between the arm members 12 and15 is controlled by the locking member 28. More particularly, when thearm members are disposed with their measuring edges 16 and 17 mutuallyparallel, the recess 36 in the locking member 28 is aligned with thelocking formation 35 on the arm member 15. Consequently, movement of thelocking member 28 into its lock position will engage these twocomponents together and will hold the clamping and locking device 18(and hence the arm member 12) against angular movement relative to thearm member 15. Movement of the locking member 28 to its release positionwill disengage these components and allow the arm members 12 and 15 topivot comparatively freely relative to one another.

It will be manifest from the above description that the lever 30 pivotsabout an axis which is generally perpendicular to the axis of relativeangular movement between the arm members 12 and 15.

Referring now also to FIGS. 5 and 6, the arm member 15 is provided witha pair of locating devices 38 adjacent its ends, respectively. Eachdevice 38 comprises a generally L-shaped component 39 which is receivedwithin a configurated recess 40. The component 39 haslaterally-extending pivot pins 41 which are a snap-fit within respectiveslots 42 in the sides of the recess 40, and which enable the componentto pivot between respective positions shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In theFIG. 5 position, a relatively short leg 43 of the component 39 liesflush with an upper surface of the arm member 15, while a relativelylong leg 44 is flush with the measuring edge 16 and depends for arelatively large distance below a lower surface of the arm member 15. Inthe FIG. 6 position, the leg 43 is flush with the measuring edge 16 andupstands for a relatively short distance above the upper surface of thearm member 15, while the leg 44 lies flush with the lower surface of thearm member 15. The purpose of these locating devices 38 will beexplained later.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the cutting device 11 in detail, which is composed ofa base 45 across which extend a pair of spaced, parallel guide rails 46.A carriage 47 is mounted on the guide rails 46 for sliding movementtherealong, and carries a pivot pin 48 on which there is mounted acutter member 49. To one side of the pivot pin 48, the member 49 isconfigured to form a jaw 50 which (as viewed in plan) is disposedbetween a pair of extension members 51 on the carriage 47. As will bedescribed in more detail later, the jaw 50 co-operates with the members51 to snap a tile along a desired parting line.

To the opposite side of the pivot pin 48, the member 49 is provided witha cutter wheel 52, which is used to score a tile to be parted. As theassembly of the carriage 47 and the member 49 is moved along the rails46, the cutter wheel 52 follows a defined path P across the base 45.Such movement of the assembly, and also movement of the jaw 50 relativeto the members 51, is effected by means of an elongate handle 53attached to the cutter member 49.

The base 45 has formed therein a recess 54 of generally cruciform shapewhich is disposed symmetrically with respect to the path P of the cutterwheel 52. This recess can be regarded as two T-shaped recesses disposedback-to-back: each T-shaped recess is configured to receive selectivelythe arm member 12 of the measuring device 10 from one side or the otherof the cutting device 11, while the other T-shaped recess can be blockedoff using a blanking plate 55. The dimensions of the various componentsare arranged so that, when the arm member 12 is received within therecess 54, its upper surface lies generally flush with the upper surfaceof the base 45 and its measuring edge 17 is aligned with the path P.

The above-described apparatus is used in the following manner to cut atile to a required size, for example to fill a gap remaining between arun of tiles on a wall and a corner between that wall and another.Firstly, the lever 30 of the measuring device 10 is moved to its releaseposition to allow relatively free rectilinear movement between the armmembers 12 and 15, and the locating devices 38 are put into their FIG. 5positions. The measuring edge 17 of the arm member 12 is then engagedwith the corner between the walls, and the arm member 15 is movedrelative to the arm member 12 until the locating devices 38 engage withthe end of the existing run of tiles. The lever 30 is then returned toits lock position to clamp the arm members 12 and 15 together with themeasuring edges 16 and 17 at the required spacing.

Following this, the measuring device 10 is transferred to the cuttingdevice 11 and the arm member 12 is inserted into the recess 54, afterthe locating devices 38 have been switched to their FIG. 6 positions. Atile T (shown in broken lines in FIG. 7) is then placed on the base 45with one edge engaged with the edge 16 of the arm member 15, and thecutting device 11 is operated to score a line across the tile. Thisscoring operation is performed by grasping the handle 53 and moving thecarriage 47 along the rails 46 with the cutter wheel 52 in contact witha front (upper) surface of the tile T.

The tile T is then removed from the base 45 and is inserted horizontallyinto the gap between the jaw 50 and the extension members 51, with thecenter of the jaw 50 aligned with the score line. The jaw 50 thuscontacts the tile from below at the score line itself, whereas themembers 51 contact the tile from above at locations spaced on eitherside of the score line. The handle 53 is then moved downwardly to exertan upward force on the jaw 50, which causes the tile to part along thescore line. The resultant cut-off portion can then be inserted into theaforementioned gap at the end of the existing run of tiles.

It is often difficult to see the score line once made, and therefore auser may experience difficulty in achieving proper alignment between thejaw 50 and the score line. To facilitate this operation, the measuringdevice 10 can be removed from the recess 54 and then re-inserted upsidedown with the locating devices 38 back in their FIG. 5 positions, wherethey upstand from the base 45 for a rather greater distance thanpreviously (see FIG. 8). The edge of the tile T can then be engaged withthese devices during the parting operation, thereby automaticallyensuring proper alignment of the jaw 50 with the score line.

As indicated previously, when the measuring device 10 is located in therecess 54, the measuring edge 17 of the arm member 12 is aligned withthe path P of the cutter wheel 52. Consequently, the measuring edge 16of the arm member 15 is spaced from the line P by a distancesubstantially equal to the width of the previously-measured gap.Therefore, the score line produced by the cutter wheel 52 is spaced fromthe tile edge by substantially the right distance to match the width ofthe gap.

In fact, the distance between the tile edge and the score line will beslightly less than the width of the gap, by an amount corresponding tothe thickness of the L-shaped components 39 of the locating devices 38.This is because a rearward edge of each component 39 contacts the end ofthe tile run during the measurement operation, while the tile T iscontacted by a forward edge of each component 39 during the scoringoperation. The resultant difference in size between the cut-off tileportion and the gap enables a small space to be left between the cut-offportion and the end of the existing tile run, for grouting purposes.

In the above-described measuring operation, the arm member 15 isprevented from moving angularly relative to the arm member 12 byengagement of the locking member 28 with the locking formation 35.However, if the gap to be measured does not have parallel edges, thenthe locking member 28 can be moved to its release position duringinitial setting up of the measuring device 10. This will then allow thearm member 15 to be moved angularly to match any relative inclinationbetween the edges of the gap. This relative inclination will thenautomatically be transferred to the score line during the subsequentcutting operation.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the arm member 12 is provided with locating lugs56 on the measuring edge 17 for use when the measuring device 10 is usedto measure e.g. a gap in a run of tiles. The arm member 12 can also beprovided with a measuring scale 57 on its stem portion 13.

Referring back to the cutting device 11, each of the guide rails 46 isretained at one end in a respective mounting member 58, while its otherend is retained in a common mounting member 59. This latter member isshown in detail in FIGS. 9 and 10, and comprises a hollow molding havingside walls 60 and 61 facing respectively towards and away from the,mounting member 58. To receive each guide rail 46, the member 59 isprovided with a pair of aligned apertures 62 and 63 in the side walls 60and 61, respectively. Each of these apertures opens into a recess 64 inthe exterior of the member 59 which extends over the top of the latterand partially down each side wall 60,61. The recess 64 receives a cap 65which serves to block off the apertures 63 while leaving the apertures62 open.

The member 59 is produced by a molding operation using two moldcomponents which are withdrawn respectively upwardly and downwardly asviewed in FIGS. 9 and 10. The two components are arranged to be in sidecontact in the areas which subsequently define the apertures 62 and 63,so that no side-coring is needed to form these apertures. As aconsequence, the external surface of the member 59 has no undercutsurfaces in an upward direction, the internal surface of the member hasno undercut surfaces in a downward direction, and these surfaces arecoplanar and coincident at the apertures 62 and 63. This in turn meansthat the apertures 63 are not circular, but rather have a vertical edge66 on one side thereof.

The mounting members 58 (shown in detail in FIG. 11) are moulded insubstantially the same way as the member 59, except that apertures 67are formed only in the side walls which face towards the member 59. Allof the members 58 and 59 are formed integrally with the base 45, fromwhich they upstand.

In order to assemble the cutting device 11, each rail 46 is insertedthrough the apertures 62 and 63 in the mounting member 59, through thecarriage 47 and then into the blind aperture in the respective mountingmember 58. The cap 65 is then placed over the member 59, therebyblanking off the apertures 63 and retaining the rails 46 in position.This construction enables the whole assembly to be held together bymeans of a single screw 68 (see FIG. 1) which secures the cap 65 to themember 59, which represents a considerable simplification over existingcutting devices of this type.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 12 to 17,and as before comprises a measuring device 70 composed of a pair ofmeasuring members 71 and 72, and a cutting device 73. In this case,however, the measuring members are in the form of elongate arms whichare disposed generally perpendicularly to one another, with the member72 being slidable rectilinearly along the length of the member 71.

A finger element 74 projects beyond a forward edge of the member 71 atone end thereof. A further finger element 75 projects forwardly from anend of the member 72 by substantially the same distance as the element74. Both of the finger elements 74 and 75 thus extend in a directionparallel to the plane of relative movement between the members 71 and72. These elements are used to measure e.g. a gap to be filled by atile, in a manner to be described later.

A pair of feet 76 depend from the underside of the member 72 and defineopposed recesses 77 which slidably receive respective edges of themember 71. The member 72 also has a projection 78 which extendsdownwardly into the space between the feet 76 and which slidably engagesin a slot 79 which runs the length of the upper surface of the member71.

Sliding movement between the members 71 and 72 is controlled by alocking device 80 including a manually operable lever 81 which ismovable between a lock position (shown in FIG. 14) and a releaseposition (shown in FIG. 15). The lever 81 is of generally L-shapedconfiguration and is received in a recess 82 in a housing 83 on themember 72, which recess 82 communicates with the underside of the member72 by way of an opening 84. The lever 81 has a pair of pivot pins 85(only one shown) which extend laterally from an end of its shorter limband which are received as a snap-engagement in respective recesses 86(only one shown) in opposed side walls of the opening 84. Each pivot pin85 is of generally circular cylindrical form, but includes a flatportion 87.

The pivot pins 85 act as cams to urge the members 71 and 72 into mutualclamping engagement. More particularly, when the lever 81 is in itsrelease position, the flats 87 on the pivot pins 85 lie generallyparallel to the upper surface of the members 71 and are slightly spacedtherefrom. Under these conditions, the member 72 is free to slide alongthe member 71. However, when the lever 81 is moved to its lock position,one side of each flat 87 is urged into contact with the upper surface ofthe member 71, thereby pressing the member 71 downwardly relative to themember 72 and clamping the edges of the member 71 against base walls ofthe recesses 77. Under these conditions, the members 71 and 72 areclamped against relative movement.

The cutting device 73 is shown in FIG. 16, and is generally identical tothe cutting device 11 described previously, being composed of a base 88,a pair of guide rails 89, and a cutter (not shown) which is movablealong a path P. However, the recess 54 in the base 45 is now replaced bya recess 90 which is configured to receive the member 71 with the fingerelement 74 aligned with the cutter path P. When the member 71 isdisposed in the recess 90, its upper surface is arranged to be generallyflush with an upper surface of the base 88.

The apparatus is used to cut a tile to a desired dimension as follows.Firstly, the lever 81 of the measuring device 70 is moved to its releaseposition so that the measuring members 71 and 72 are free to moverelative to one another. The measuring device 70 is then oriented in agenerally vertical plane so that the finger elements 74 and 75 can beinserted into the space whose size is to be measured. Following this,the members 71 and 72 are moved apart until a measurement edge 91 of theelement 74 engages one side of the space, while a measurement edge 92 ofthe element 75 engages the other side.

The lever 81 is then returned to its lock position, and the measuringdevice 70 is transferred to the base 88 of the cutting device 73 withthe member 71 being inserted in the recess 90. A tile to be cut (notshown) is then placed on the base 88 with an edge thereof engaged with aside edge 93 of the member 72. Because the measurement edge 91 of thefinger element 74 is aligned with the cutter path P, the tile will thenbe positioned for cutting to substantially the desired size, on the sameprinciples as described previously.

In fact, the tile will be cut to a slightly smaller dimension than thatmeasured by the finger elements 74 and 75, so that a small gap will beleft for grouting purposes as before. This difference in dimensionarises because the measured dimension corresponds to the distancebetween the measurement edges 91 and 92 of the finger elements 74 and75, while the tile is cut to a dimension corresponding to the distancebetween the edge 91 of the finger element 74 and the edge 93 of themember 72. The size of the gap for grouting will thus be determined bythe distance x between the edges 91 and 93.

Referring now also to FIG. 17, to facilitate secure holding of themember 71 in the recess 90 during the cutting operation, a base of therecess 90 is provided with a ridge 94 which engages in a complementaryslot 95 on the underside of the member 71. At one end of the ridge 94,the base of the recess 90 is also provided with a configurated slot 96which receives a lug 97 depending from the member 71 in the region ofthe finger element 74, with a protrusion 98 in the mouth of the slot 96locating through an opening 99 in the lug 97. At the other end of theridge 94, the base of the recess 90 has a further slot 100 whichreceives a projection 101 depending from the underside of the member 71.Engagement between these respective parts serves to resist tipping ofthe measuring device 70 under the weight of a tile in cases where themember 72 overhangs the edge of the base 88.

I claim:
 1. An apparatus for cutting tiles or similar items to size.,comprising:a measuring device having first and second measuring memberswhich are movable towards and away from each other to set a requiredsize to which a tile is to be cut, wherein the measuring members aremounted for both rectilinear and angular movement relative to oneanother, said measuring device including first locking means operable tolock said first and second measuring members against relative movement,said first locking means including a manually operable locking memberwhich is moveable between a lock position and a release position, andsecond locking means operable to lock said measuring members againstrelative angular movement and including a manually operable secondlocking member moveable between a lock position and a release position,said first locking member when in its lock position preventing movementof said second locking member between said lock and release positions,and a cutting device comprising a base, a cutter, guide means forguiding movement of said cutter along a defined path across said base,and a formation on said base to receive said first measuring member ofsaid measuring device and to position the same in alignment with saiddefined path, whereby a tile placed in edge contact with said secondmeasuring member of said measuring device is automatically positionedfor cutting substantially to the required size by said cutter.
 2. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of said measuring memberscomprises a stem portion and at least one arm extending laterallytherefrom, and the other measuring member is mounted on said stemportion for rectilinear and angular movement relative thereto.
 3. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first locking means is inthe form of a clamp and clamps said measuring members together when saidfirst locking member is in its lock position.
 4. The apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein said first locking means is in the form of a clampand clamps said measuring members together when said first lockingmember is in its lock position, and the clamping action is performed bymeans of a cam surface on said first locking member.
 5. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said first locking means includes a clampelement mounted on one of said measuring members and including a firstrecess in which the other of said measuring members is received, andsaid other measuring member is urged against a wall of said first recesswhen said first locking member is in its lock position, and said secondlocking means comprises a mounting element which is angularly fixedrelative to one of said measuring members and which is rotatablyreceived in a second recess in the other of said measuring members, andsaid second locking member is carried by said mounting element formovement towards and away from a side wall of said second recess.
 6. Anapparatus for cutting tiles or similar items to size, comprising:ameasuring device having first and second measuring members which aremovable towards and away from each other to set a required size to whicha tile is to be cut, wherein said second measuring member has ameasuring edge and a lower surface, and is provided at said measuringedge with at least one projection which is mounted for pivotal movementbetween a first, measuring position in which said projection dependsbelow said lower surface of said second measuring member and a surfaceof said projection lies flush with said measuring edge of said secondmeasuring member, and a second position in which said projection liesflush with said lower surface of said second measuring member saidmeasuring device including locking means operable to lock said first andsecond measuring members against relative movement, said locking meansincluding a manually operable locking member which is moveable between alock position and a release position; and a cutting device comprising abase, a cutter, guide means for guiding movement of said cutter along adefined path across said base, and a formation on said base to receivesaid first measuring member of said measuring device and to position thesame in alignment with said defined path, whereby a tile placed in edgecontact with said second measuring member of said measuring device isautomatically positioned for cutting substantially to the required sizeby said cutter.